The 5 Kanye West Rants that Make Us Miss His Blog

From issuing apologies to stating "NO MORE APOLOGIES!" these are the posts we remember his blog for the most.

Kanye West became a Twitter legend almost immediately when he launched his sadly-now-deleted account in the middle of 2010, but more seasoned fans remember a time well before @kanyewest ever existed. On his blog, which was found at www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog and ceased to exist in 2010 (it now can only be accessed through Wayback Machine), West would post daily on things like art, music, shoes, fashion, photography, and really anything he was feeling at the moment. (We also remember West posting a surprising amount of minimalist tree houses.)

But every once in a while, West would take to his blog not to share a product or picture, but to serve up written streams of consciousness like the ones he would eventually bring to Twitter (140 characters at a time) or has been known to deliver in real time at his concerts. Almost exclusively written in all caps, West used the platform to respond to rumors and controversies, or simply to share his uniquely Kanye West views of the world. Not everything he prophesied came true (for instance, when he said he would stop telling people how dope he thought he was), but his blog was one of the only places fans got to hear from one of our generations most creative people unfiltered, and frankly, we miss it. So, on West's 40th birthday, we've taken the opportunity to share just a few of our favorites:

"I JUST WANT TO BE A DOPER PERSON"

Date: April 9, 2009

Why Kanye Was Upset/Happy/In a Rant-y Mood:South Park aired an episode that depicted Kanye West as an egomaniac who, despite considering himself a genius, could not understand a simple joke about fishsticks. On the show, Kanye West and his crew were depicted in outfits based on the ones they wore to Paris Fashion Week in early 2009. (Specifically, based on outfits captured in a photo by former GQ street style photographer Tommy Ton.) In 2013 on Zane Lowe, West again addressed the "South Park photo" by saying, "Do you think there would be a Givenchy in the hood without that photo?"

"SOUTH PARK MURDERED ME LAST NIGHT AND IT'S PRETTY FUNNY. IT HURTS MY FEELINGS BUT WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM SOUTH PARK! I ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN WORKING ON MY EGO THOUGH. HAVING THE CRAZY EGO IS PLAYED OUT AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE AND CAREER. I USE TO USE IT TO BUILD UP MY ESTEEM WHEN NOBODY BELIEVED IN ME. NOW THAT PEOPLE DO BELIEVE AND SUPPORT MY MUSIC AND PRODUCTS THE BEST RESPONSE IS THANK YOU INSTEAD OF "I TOLD YOU SO!!!" IT'S COOL TO TALK SHIT WHEN YOU'RE RAPPING BUT NOT IN REAL LIFE. WHEN YOU MEET LITTLE WAYNE IN PERSON HE'S THE NICEST GUY FOR EXAMPLE. I JUST WANNA BE A DOPER PERSON WHICH STARTS WITH ME NOT ALWAYS TELLING PEOPLE HOW DOPE I THINK I AM. I NEED TO JUST GET PAST MYSELF. DROP THE BRAVADO AND JUST MAKE DOPE PRODUCT. EVERYTHING IS NOT THAT SERIOUS. AS LONG AS PEOPLE THINK I ACT LIKE A BITCH THIS TYPE OF SHIT WILL HAPPEN TO ME. I GOT A LONG ROAD AHEAD OF ME TO MAKE PEOPLE BELIEVE I'M NOT ACTUALLY A HUGE DOUCHE BUT I'M UP FOR THE CHALLENGE. I'M SURE THE WRITERS AT SOUTH PARK ARE REALLY NICE PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE. THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO DRAW MY CREW. THAT WAS PRETTY FUNNY ALSO!! I'M SURE THERE'S GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN THIS... THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW IT'S ME!"

"I'M SO SORRY TAYLOR!"

Why Kanye Was Upset/Happy/In a Rant-y Mood: Well, you know the story. He also went on Jay Leno the next day and broke down when the host asked West what his mother would have said to him in that moment, which, to be honest, was kind of a dick move on Leno's part.

I'M SOOOO SORRY TO TAYLOR SWIFT AND HER FANS AND HER MOM. I SPOKE TO HER MOTHER RIGHT AFTER AND SHE SAID THE SAME THING MY MOTHER WOULD'VE SAID. SHE IS VERY TALENTED! I LIKE THE LYRICS ABOUT BEING A CHEERLEADER AND SHE'S IN THE BLEACHERS! I'M IN THE WRONG FOR GOING ON STAGE AND TAKING AWAY FROM HER MOMENT! I WILL APOLOGIZE TO TAYLOR 2MRW. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!!!! EVERYBODY WANNA BOOOOO ME BUT I'M A FAN OF REAL POP CULTURE!!! NO DISRESPECT BUT WE WATCHIN' THE SHOW AT THE CRIB RIGHT NOW CAUSE...WELL YOU KNOW!!!!I'M STILL SO HAPPY FOR TAYLOR!!!!BOOOYAAAWWWW!!!! YOU ARE VERY TALENTED! I GAVE MY AWARDS TO OUTKAST WHEN THEY DESERVED IT OVER ME... THAT'S WHAT IT IS!!!!!!! I'M NOT CRAZY Y'ALL, I'M JUST REAL. SORRY FOR THAT! I REALLY FEEL BAD FOR TAYLOR AND I'M SINCERELY SORRY!!! MUCH RESPECT!!!!!"

"FUCK YOUR COLORING BOOK!"

Why Kanye Was Upset/Happy/In a Rant-y Mood: This was ten months before he released what many consider to be his masterpiece, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. This post kicked off what—despite the "No more politics or apologies!" line the post concludes with—would be a year-long backhanded apology tour following the infamous VMA Awards Taylor Swift incident. (Which culminated with West performing "Runaway" at the 2010 MTV VMA Awards.)

"WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE, REMEMBER THE FEARLESS, REMEMBER THE DREAMERS, REMEMBER THOSE WHO REPRESENT THE GHETTO...THE FAIRY TALE OF NOTHING TO SOMETHING. I'M BRIEFLY SADDENED BY NEGATIVE COMMENTS, BUT I HAVE TO REMEMBER THOSE PEOPLE ARE SCARED, INCAPABLE OR JUST PLAIN IDIOTS. WE ARE THE FUCKING ROCK STARS BABY. NO COCAINE, JUST LIFE MY NIGGAS!! NO COCAINE, JUST LIFE! IT'S FUNNY TO ME WHEN FASHION BLOGGERS DOWN OUR OUFITS AND THEN SUPER JOCK OUTLANDISH SHIT ON THE RUNWAY BUT THEN THEY DRESS MAD PRUDE AND DON'T LIVE FASHION. WE LIVE IT MAN. FUCK THAT, WE LIVE IT!!! WE LIVE IT SO HARD PEOPLE LIVE THROUGH US! WE REPRESENT YOUR INNER SPIRIT!! THE CHILD IN US ALL, THE BRUTAL HONESTY, THE NAIVETY, THE BRAVE WARRIOR, THE ADRENALINE THAT ALLOWS A MOTHER TO LIFT A CAR IF HER CHILD WAS TRAPPED UNDER IT! REMEMBER, THERE WAS A TIME WHEN EVERYBODY DISSED MICHAEL JACKSON EVERY CHANCE THEY COULD. IMAGINE THE PRESSURE OF BEING A TRUE ICON. VERY FEW HUMAN BEINGS ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO TAKE CONSTANT HATE!!! IF WE DON'T DO WHAT YOU FEEL IS THE SHIT, YOU BEAT US UP VERBALLY AND MENTALLY, LIKE A CATHOLIC SCHOOL TEACHER BEATING A CREATIVE STUDENT INTO SUBMISSION. I CAN HEAR YOU SCREAMING 'COLOR INSIDE THE LINES!!!' WELL FUCK YOUR COLORING BOOK, COLOR BY NUMBERS APPROACH TO LIFE. AT THE END OF THE DAY WHO ARE WE HURTING??? OH "THE NEW BLACK???" SINCE BARACK IS PRESIDENT BLACKS DON'T LIKE FUR COATS, RED LEATHER, AND FRIED CHICKEN ANY MORE?! WHEN YOU TRULY UNDERSTAND CULTURAL SETTINGS, BOUNDARIES, AND OUR MODERN DAY CASTE SYSTEMS, THEN YOU CAN FEEL THE GLORY AND PAIN FROM THE DAYS OF KINGS IN AFRICA TO THE NEW KINGS OF THE MEDIA. LET THE BALL PLAYERS DANCE AFTER THEY SCORE! IT'S LIFE MY NIGGAS, IT'S LIFE! REMEMBER CLOTHING IS A CHOICE. WE WERE BORN NAKED!!! FRESH IS AN OPINION, LOVE IS OBJECTIVE, TASTE IS SELECTIVE, AND EXPRESSION IS MY FAVORITE ELECTIVE. NO MORE POLITICS OR APOLOGIES!!!"

"LITERALLY....JUST KIDDING...SORT OF! HAHAAAHAA!"

Why Kanye Was Upset/Happy/In a Rant-y Mood: One of the more controversial aspects of West's blog was the way he posted photos of half-naked women on his site relentlessly, often with photoshopped word bubbles over the images that read "Where are you Yeezy?" (A lyric from his 2007 song "Flashing Lights.") Though they didn't get word bubbles, he did post pictures of both Kim and Kourtney Kardashain at different times. But to express just how much he loved posting "Where are you Yeezy?" pictures, he decided to issue the following stream of consciousness:

"I LOVE BLOGGING, DUH!!! BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVE THE MOST IS DOING THE "WHERE ARE YOU YEEZY'S" (LITERALLY....JUST KIDDING...SORT OF! HAHAAAHAA!) SERIOUSLY THOUGH! I ACTUALLY DON'T KNOW MOST OF THE GIRLS I POST...BUT THERE'S A METHOD TO THE MADNESS, SOME PEACE TO THE PERVERSION. THIS POST GIVES ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE CREATIVE. I.. MEANING ME...MEANING (IN THIRD PERSON LIKE I'M CRAZY) KANYE WEST...I FIRST CHOOSE THE, WHAT I LIKE TO CALL COVER PHOTO...I KNOW YOU MIGHT NOT BELIEVE THIS BUT I LOOK FOR SOMETHING NOT TO TRASHY AND ICONIC. EVERYTHING I DO IS ABOUT CREATING ICONIC MEMORABLE IMAGERY. OBVIOUSLY I DON'T THINK SHOT'S FROM THE BACK ARE TRASHY DEPENDING ON THE SPECIFIC POSE. I'M BASICALLY RETARDED WITH PHOTO SHOP SO I FEEL SO ACCOMPLISHED WHEN I ERASE A LOGO OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT OFF A PHOTO...THEN I OBVIOUSLY USE COMIC LIFE TO PUT THE "WHERE ARE YOU YEEZY" NEXT TO THE GIRL...I TRY TO KEEP THE ARM ON THE SPEECH BUBBLE PRETTY STRAIGHT AND SMALL...IT FEELS MORE "DESIGN" TO ME. THE COMPOSITION IS MAD IMPORTANT AND SOME OF THESE HAVE A MAGIC TO THEM, THE COMBO OF, FIRST OF ALL, HOW BEAUTIFUL AND PHOTOGENIC THE GIRL IS THEN HER POSE THEN HOW SHE RELATES TO HER ENVIRONMENT.. IS SHE ON A BEACH? ON A ROCK? IS SHE IN BED? IS IT AN ALL BLACK BACKGROUND? IS IT AN ALL WHITE ONE? HOW MUCH NEGATIVE SPACE MEANING THE EMPTY SPACE IN THE PHOTO....WHICH IS DOPE SOMETIMES BECAUSE CAUSE THEY LOOK LIKE THEY'RE FLOATING LIKE MUSIC VIDEOS WITH WHITE SIKES (BACKGROUNDS). HERE'S A LOOK BACK AT SOME OF MY PERSONAL FAVORITE "WHERE ARE YOU YEEZY POST"

Date: June 25, 2008

Why Kanye Was Upset/Happy/In a Rant-y Mood: Because he was scheduled to headline Bonnaroo but didn't take the stage until almost 5 in the morning, causing West to perform his Glow in the Dark tour performance in broad daylight. At that point many fans were (understandably) upset, but a few fans got aggressive and through bottles on the stage which didn't make the situation better. In response to the backlash, West lashed out on his blog to explain that the show took so long to put on because of miscommunication on the part of the festival.

"I am sick of negative people who just sit around trying 2 plot my downfall… Why???? I understand if people don’t like me because I like me or if people think tight clothes look gay or people say I run my mouth to much, But this Bonnaroo thing is the worst insult I’ve ever had in my life. This is the most offended I’ve ever been… this is the maddest I ever will be. I’m typing so fucking hard I might break my fucking Mac book Air!!!!!!!! Call me any name you want…. arrogant, conceited, narcissistic, racist, metro, fag whatever you can think of…. BUT NEVER SAY I DIDN’T GIVE MY ALL! NEVER SAY I DIDN’T GIVE MY ALL! THIS SHOWS NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY TO BE GOOD AT SOMETHING THERE WILL BE PEOPLE THERE TO LIE ABOUT YOU AND BRING YOU DOWN! LIKE WAYNE SAYS PLEASE DON’T SHOOT ME DOWN CAUSE I’M FLYING! I’M FUCKING HURT BY THIS ONE. ALL I CARE ABOUT ARE THE FANS. JUST SAY THIS OUT LOUD IN A ROOM FULL OF PEOPLE, “KANYE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT GIVING A GOOD PERFORMANCE.” CAN ANYONE HONESTLY SAY THAT ????????? HAS ANYONE EVEN TAKEN THE TIME TO AT LEAST DO THE MATH??? BONNAROO SHOULD HAVE RELEASED A STATEMENT IN MY DEFENSE BUT SINCE THEY HAVEN’T LET’S BREAK DOWN THE WALLS ON THIS TRUMAN SHOW AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT REALLY OCCURRED!!! FOR OVER A MONTH WE WENT BACK AND FORTH ON WETHER OR NOT WE COULD EVEN FIT MY STAGE AT THE FESTIVAL. ONE DAY THEY WOULD SAY YES… WE’D SEND THEM OUR SPECS THEN THEY THEY’D SAY OK… THEN THEY WOULD SEND SPECS BACK THAT DIDN’T FIT THE STAGE. WE WERE OBVIOUSLY DEALING WITH FUCKING IDIOTS WHO DIDN’T REALLY HAVE THE CAPACITY TO REALLY PUT ON THIS SHOW PROPERLY. THEY TRIED 2 GIVE ME A TIME SLOT WERE IT WAS STILL LIGHT OUTSIDE … I HAVE A FUCKING LIGHT SHOW DUMB ASS, IT’S NOT CALLED GLOW IN THE DARK FOR NO REASON SQUID BRAINS! MY PEOPLE WORKED OUT A COMPROMISED STAGE PLOT AND A 3AM TIME SLOT AND I AGREED. FAST FOWARD TO THE DAY OF THE SHOW. MY PRODUCTION MANAGER TRIED TO LOAD IN FOR 24 HOURS BEFORE I WENT ON STAGE BUT THE FESTIVAL WOULDN’T ALLOW US TO DO ANYTHING UNTILL PEARL JAM LEFT THE STAGE. PEARL JAM ENDED ONE HOUR
LATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AT THAT POINT WE’RE RACING AGAINST THE SUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AT 4:20AM DON COMES BACK 2 THE BUS AND TELLS ME, ” IT WOULD TAKE 45 MORE MINUTES TO PUT ALL YOUR PYRO IN!” I SAY I HAVE TO GET OUT THERE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE . I HIT THE STAGE AND PEOPLE HAD BEEN THROWING SHIT ON THE STAGE AND HAD ACTUALLY HIT THE JANE SCREEN WITH, I GUESS BOTTLES OR SOMETHING AND HAD BROKEN MY FUCKING SCREEN. REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE A SHORTY AND WATER WOULD HIT THE TV?????? WHEN I GOT 2 “THROUGH THE WIRE” I STEPPED ON THE FRONT PART OF MY STAGE AND THERE WAS SO MUCH LIQUID ON THE STAGE I COULDN’T MOVE WITHOUT SLIPPING. I HAD TO ADJUST MY WHOLE PERFORMANCE STYLE BECAUSE OF IT. A FEW MORE SONGS IN AND THE SONG WAS ON IT’S WAY UP.. I CUT A FEW SONGS FROM THE SET BECAUSE I WANTED PEOPLE 2 EXPERIENCE STRONGER WHILE THERE WAS STILL SOME DARKNESS TO PERFORM IT IN. I’VE STRUGGLED WITH STRONGER FROM IT’S CONCEPTION. REMEMBER LAST SUMMER WHEN I CANCELED SOME TV APPEARANCES. IT WAS BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT TO PERFORM STRONGER IN THE DAYTIME. ANYONE WHO CAME TO THE GLOW TOUR CAN UNDERSTAND WHY I WANTED PEOPLE TO SEE IT PROPERLY. IT BROKE MY HEART THAT I COULDN’T GIVE THESE FANS STRONGER IN IT’S GREATEST FORM… BY THE TIME I GOT TO STRONGER IT WAS DAYTIME AND IT BROKE MY HEART. I’M SORRY TO EVERYONE THAT I DIDN’T HAVE THE ABILITY 2 GIVE THE PERFORMANCE I WANTED TO. I’M SORRY… SOMETIMES I GO 2, 3 DAYS W/O SLEEP WORKING ON MY PERFORMANCE… I HAVE TO ICE MY KNEES AFTER EVERY SHOW AND THEY HURT WHEN I WALK THROUGH THE AIRPORT… HAVING AN EXPENSIVE STAGE CUTS MY PAYDAY IN HALF… CALL ME WHAT YOU WANT BUT NEVER SAY I DIDN’T GIVE MY ALL!!!"

(*NOT A RANT BUT WORTH NOTING)"THE BEST SHOES EVER OF ALL-TIME PERIOD!"

Why Kanye Was Upset/Happy/In a Rant-y Mood: Before ever designing a sneaker of his own, West decided that Common Projects' desert boot sneakers were the best shoes of all-time. For one, it shows that West doesn't always think his versions of things are the best, but also that he hasn't always fancied sneakers that look like they were designed 100 years into the future.